Double Helix 03_ Red Sector - Diane Carey [69]
As Travis finished his mediate duties and came down to the center of the squatty bridge to stand behind him, Stiles folded his arms and insisted again, “Why?”
“Because I know too much. I’m the one who knows why the Romulans have been skirmishing with the Federation on all the border fronts. You said you didn’t know, remember? But I do.”
Stiles glanced at Travis, who made a subtle shrug with just his eyes.
“The Lafayette slipped you on board here to sort of shuffle the cards so the Romulans wouldn’t know which ship you’re on?”
“Yes! Also to get me out of the line of fire. The Federation doesn’t want me to be a scraping goat.”
“Well, how do you feel about telling me this big secret that suddenly makes my ship a target?”
“Oh, I feel fine about it! I know everything. I know why the Romulans are panicking.”
Hashley stepped closer and poked Stiles in the folded forearm, and his eyes got big as golf balls.
“Poison! The whole Romulan royal family! Every single member of the emperor’s bloodline, no matter where they are, all over the empire. They’re all dying? “What?”
Astonished, Eric Stiles sank back on the edge of the helm. His feet felt molded to the deck. His arms wouldn’t unfold.
“We haven’t heard anything about that}” Travis blurted, glancing custodially at Stiles, then back at the funny agricultural broker who had been dropped on them.
“It’s a big, huge secret,” Hashley went on. “The Romulan royal family is trying to keep it secret. They don’t want anybody to know their empire’s leadership could all be dying, one by one. It’ll be just a mess if such a big weakness gets discovered, even if only by people inside the empire.”
Behind Sties’ shoulder, Travis asked, “And they think the Federation’s behind the… the whatever’s killing them?”
“Poisoning,” Hashley said. “Or maybe an engineered virus-anyway, it’s something definitely artificially constructed. A hundred and ten members of the royal family have died already, and all the others are infected. I’m the only Federation citizen running the Neutral Zone, so they know I’m smart and I know why they’re attacking Federation ships,”
Stiles swallowed a hard lump and registered that his feet were suddenly blocks of ice. That didn’t sound right. Nobody cared that much about one Federation guy running cargo, and Hashley sure wasn’t the only one.
“What’s this thing they’ve got?” he asked. “How does it manifest itself?.”
“They’ve got a blood disease. First they get real weak, real suddenly. Then their arms and legs start hurting. Pretty soon they can hardly walk and breathe. It’s infected every single member of the emperor’s bloodline. It’s specialized to the blood of the royal family, so they know this is a mass assassination attempt. It’s supposed to be a secret, but I found out about it, so they tried to kidnap me.” “The Romulans?”
“That’s right. And the Majestic came in and rescued me, and they were trying to get back to Federation space with me when the Romulans attacked them. They beamed me to the Lafayette to confuse the Romulans, and now the Lafayette beamed me to you, to keep confusing them. Now they don’t know where I am.” The bridge fell to an uneasy silence. “Aren’t you kind of… blabbing a lot, Mr. Hashley?”
“Oh, yes! That way I’m never the only one to know anything!” “Pretty cavalier about it, aren’t you?” Travis commented. Hashley shrugged his round shoulders and showed the palms of his hands, then abruptly clapped them together and drew a sharp breath. “Stiles! Are you Eric John Stiles?” “Well-“
“I remember you! You’re Eric John Stiles the Hero! You got the Medal of Valor eight years ago!” “Ten,” Stiles mumbled.
“Eleven;’ Travis corrected, and he took Hashley by the arm in a stem manner. “We don’t talk about that around here very much, Mr. Hashley. He’s just our lightcudder and that’s how we keep it.” “Oh, I’m so happy to be here and meet him, though!”
“Mr. Hashley” Stiles interrupted,